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Celery is pretty much an afterthought when it comes to vegetables. Always the backup singer and never the star attraction. But this delicious cream of celery soup brings it straight to the main stage! Whether you want to serve it as a starter or a main dish with some of my Pretty Darn Perfect Sweet Dinner Rolls, there’s nothing like a warm bowl of cream of celery soup.I also have a new Cream of Cauliflower Leek Soup if you’re game to try that!
Cream Of Celery Soup
This is not a light soup. It’s super thick, creamy, comforting, and full of flavor. This will barely take a cent out of your grocery shopping budget, and if you have some celery lying around that you need to use up, then you’ve no excuse not to give it a try. I promise you will not forget it (unless you hate celery, I can’t do much about that…!). The health benefits of celery make this soup super nutritious too. Celery is known to lower cholesterol and blood sugar and reduce inflammation, and it’s also full of antioxidants. It’s right up there with my minestrone soup amaranth vegetable soup and spicy lentil bean soup for being loaded with vegetables!
How To Make Cream of Celery
You can whip this up using an instant pot or slow cooker so I’m going to run through the steps for each and you can use what works for you!
Instant Pot
- Add the oil and onions to the bottom of your instant pot and fry the onions until they become translucent and soft. Then add your garlic to the mix.
- Continue to fry the garlic and onions for another few minutes.
- Pour the broth into the instant pot and add in the remaining ingredients (except for the cream and toppings), and stir it all together.
- Close and seal the lid of the instant pot and cook for 15 minutes high pressure (you’ll need to press the soup button on your pot).
- Once the soup is ready, you can take off the lid and puree the soup with an immersion blender until you get a smooth consistency.
- When it’s smooth enough for your liking, you can add the whipping cream.
- Time to eat! Ladle the soup into bowls and add any toppings you like!
Slow Cooker
- Place a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat and add in the oil and onions. Fry the onions until they’re soft and translucent followed by adding in the garlic.
- Fry for another 2 minutes or so and add chicken broth and the remainder of the ingredients (again, not the toppings and cream!), then stir.
- When that’s done, you can transfer it to the slow cooker to cook for 5-6 hours on high or 6-8 hours on a low setting.
- Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it’s smooth and add the whipping cream.
- Pour into the bowls, add whichever toppings you prefer, and serve!
Tips And Tricks For Making Cream of Celery Soup
- You should always taste the raw celery you’re going to be using to make sure it’s not old or bitter. It should taste fresh enough to eat on its own. If you do run into a bitter celery bunch it’s a really bad idea to use it in this soup, please leave it aside for something else.
- Make sure you slice the celery thinly.
- Serve with any type of bread, I personally like something with a bit of crunch.
- You can add a splash of white wine if you like!
- The cauliflower in this recipe adds a creaminess and cuts through the really strong celery flavor. I wouldn’t skip it – unless you have a very mild tasting celery.
- The toppings also really help to add to the entire soup taste, pick the ones you like the best!
More Soup Recipes you might like:
Cheesy Cream of Cauliflower Soup
Happy cooking! I am so excited that soup season is here! What are some of your favorite soups?
Love,
Karlynn
Cream of Celery Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large white onion diced
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 4 cups chicken broth Better than Boullion is excellent in this
- 6 cups celery chopped with ribs removed if wanted
- 2 cups chopped cauliflower
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 bay leaf
Additions After Soup is Cooked
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- bacon bits
- shredded cheese
- green onions
- fresh dill
- parsley
- nutmeg optional but people love nutmeg in cream soups!
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- In the bottom of the Instant pot place the oil and the onions. Fry the onions until they are soft and translucent then add in the garlic.
- Fry the garlic and the onions for another 2 minutes.
- Pour the chicken broth into the instant pot.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients (not the cream and toppings)and stir together.
- Close the lid of the instant pot and seal.
- Press the soup button, set for 15 minutes high pressure and let cook.
- When the soup is done remove the lid according to the manufacturers direction.
- Puree the soup using an immersion blender until smooth. Add in the whipping cream.
- Ladle into bowls and serve with any of the toppings you desire!
Slow Cooker Instructions
- In a medium sized skillet over medium-high heat place the oil and the onions. Fry the onions until they are soft and translucent then add in the garlic. Fry the garlic and the onions for another 2 minutes. Transfer into the slow cooker.
- Pour the chicken broth Add in the rest of the ingredients – NOT the toppings and cream! – and stir together.
- Let cook for 5-6 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.
- Puree the soup using an immersion blender until smooth. Add in the whipping cream.
- Ladle into bowls and serve with any of the toppings you desire!
Nutrition
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Nomad Guy says
Absolutely creamy and deliciousness without guilt. This is a true keeper – don’t skip the cauliflower, it gives creaminess and umami. I didn’t use heavy cream, just skim milk, and it was excellent.
Thank you!
Susan says
How long do you cook the soup for in the instant pot. The time was not in the directions.
Abbey Stolle says
I did manual high pressure cook for 10 min, then a natural release. It was perfect
Stefanie Sanders says
I thought I hated cream of celery all my life because I’d only ever had it canned. This was FANTASTIC and I can’t wait to make it again.
Ginny says
I lessened the amount of celery: I added more cauliflower and less celery. It was a richer soup that way.
Sheri says
We found this quite salty and we even used low salt broth. I would recommend less salt at first and add salt later if necessary. The flavour was amazing otherwise!
L.Veenstra says
For those of us who love the flavour of celery, I use Loveage in almost all my cooking – wonderful herb that is so over looked. Thank you for all your great recipes .
Betsy says
I see slow cooker & instant pot instructions, but no stove top instructions?